LOW-A
The Padres assigned Salas to Low-A Lake Elsinore this season when he was just 16 years old, making him the first player that age to appear in the full-season minor leagues since Julio Urias in 2013.
Salas, who signed in January and bypassed Rookie ball entirely, reached base in seven of his first eight plate appearances, turned 17 two days after his arrival and never slowed down.
Salas hit .267/.350/.487 with nine home runs and 35 RBIS in 48 games for Lake Elsinore before earning a promotion to High-A Fort Wayne-and eventually Double-A San Antonio in late August.
Beyond the numbers, the Venezuelan catcher showed an uncanny knowledge of the strike zone and remarkable poise in the batter's box that belied his youth.
Salas laid off tantalizingly close pitches, worked counts like a season veteran and made consistent contact with a direct, fluid, lefthanded swing.
After hitting into some bad luck early, Salas hit 312/.359/.633 with eight home runs in his final 26 games with the Storm before being promoted.
"At 17 you're usually writing a high school follow report on a guy," one rival evaluator said. "I haven't seen a newly-turned 17-year-old in full-season who really looks like he belongs.
"He's taking 97 (mph) up in the zone and just crushed it for a home run. He's got a chance to be pretty damn good."
Salas understandably still needs to add strength, especially to withstand the rigors of catching. But for a player his age to excel as he did in the California League, he showed he's already on the path to becoming a special player. -Kyle Glaser
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1398697516/1693837706/articles/wYbK05LWa1693912167572/7866998389.jpg]
Massive Power Helps Isaac Stand Out
The Rays surprised the industry in 2022 by taking hulking high school first baseman Xavier Isaac in the first round.
So far, the 19-year-old has rewarded their hunch.
The winner of the Best Power category in the Carolina League, Isaac is a big, physical lefthanded hitter with the thump to match. At the time of his promotion to High-A, Isaac ranked third in the CL in home runs (13), second in slugging (462) and second in OPS (.462).
More than simply power, Isaac has impressed scouts with an advanced approach that led to a walk rate of nearly 15% in the Carolina League.
Isaac's raw power showed up in his exit velocity numbers, with a 90th percentile mark that hovered around 108 mph and a maximum of better than 114 mph.
As a first base-only prospect, Isaac is going to have to continue to mash like he did in the Carolina League to keep climbing the ladder. The biggest hole scouts see right now is in his platoon splits. He departed Low-A hitting just 192/.337/.288 against southpaws and hadn't connected for a home run against a lefty all season.
Isaac's strikeout rate against lefties in the CL was high but not outlandish at 26.8% and he still worked plenty of walks (nearly an 18% rate), but there's still plenty of work to be done to make Isaac a threat against both righties an...
The Padres assigned Salas to Low-A Lake Elsinore this season when he was just 16 years old, making him the first player that age to appear in the full-season minor leagues since Julio Urias in 2013.
Salas, who signed in January and bypassed Rookie ball entirely, reached base in seven of his first eight plate appearances, turned 17 two days after his arrival and never slowed down.
Salas hit .267/.350/.487 with nine home runs and 35 RBIS in 48 games for Lake Elsinore before earning a promotion to High-A Fort Wayne-and eventually Double-A San Antonio in late August.
Beyond the numbers, the Venezuelan catcher showed an uncanny knowledge of the strike zone and remarkable poise in the batter's box that belied his youth.
Salas laid off tantalizingly close pitches, worked counts like a season veteran and made consistent contact with a direct, fluid, lefthanded swing.
After hitting into some bad luck early, Salas hit 312/.359/.633 with eight home runs in his final 26 games with the Storm before being promoted.
"At 17 you're usually writing a high school follow report on a guy," one rival evaluator said. "I haven't seen a newly-turned 17-year-old in full-season who really looks like he belongs.
"He's taking 97 (mph) up in the zone and just crushed it for a home run. He's got a chance to be pretty damn good."
Salas understandably still needs to add strength, especially to withstand the rigors of catching. But for a player his age to excel as he did in the California League, he showed he's already on the path to becoming a special player. -Kyle Glaser
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1398697516/1693837706/articles/wYbK05LWa1693912167572/7866998389.jpg]
Massive Power Helps Isaac Stand Out
The Rays surprised the industry in 2022 by taking hulking high school first baseman Xavier Isaac in the first round.
So far, the 19-year-old has rewarded their hunch.
The winner of the Best Power category in the Carolina League, Isaac is a big, physical lefthanded hitter with the thump to match. At the time of his promotion to High-A, Isaac ranked third in the CL in home runs (13), second in slugging (462) and second in OPS (.462).
More than simply power, Isaac has impressed scouts with an advanced approach that led to a walk rate of nearly 15% in the Carolina League.
Isaac's raw power showed up in his exit velocity numbers, with a 90th percentile mark that hovered around 108 mph and a maximum of better than 114 mph.
As a first base-only prospect, Isaac is going to have to continue to mash like he did in the Carolina League to keep climbing the ladder. The biggest hole scouts see right now is in his platoon splits. He departed Low-A hitting just 192/.337/.288 against southpaws and hadn't connected for a home run against a lefty all season.
Isaac's strikeout rate against lefties in the CL was high but not outlandish at 26.8% and he still worked plenty of walks (nearly an 18% rate), but there's still plenty of work to be done to make Isaac a threat against both righties an...
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Baseball America (Digital) - 1 Issue, September 2023